Who Shih Tzu’d the Blue Dog Bed?

I don’t know who shih tzud the blue dog bed, but someone did. I decided this morning that I wanted to move the indoor play yard across the room. It’s very hard for me to see the shih tzus during the normal course of the day, since one end of their pen is blocked off by the couch. Also, if a picture-worthy moment is in action, I am usually not in the position to capture it. My thought was to move them directly across from me, sitting their pen next to the stairway.

I succeeded in moving the play yard over, but when I looked at its former location, the girls were gathered together on one small doggie bed. They didn’t look too comfortable, physically or mentally. It wasn’t until a little later that I smelled evidence of poo coming from that area, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. However, when Dottie ran across the floor, she was tracking something brown behind her.

I traced the smell to the blue striped doggie bed they were sharing. They must had been really afraid when they saw me moving their home. The bed had tell-tale brown spots, and a dog bone looked like it had been dipped in chocolate. Ugh. I  tried to corral all of the shih tzus to wipe their feet, but Dottie and Candy were the only ones to submit to the baby wipes. The bed went directly into the washing machine. Boy, with the blankets, doggie beds and towels I wash for or because of these little darlings, that machine gets a lot of use these days.

After all of that, I decided it might not be the right time to move the pen, so I moved it back before John left for work. They recuperated relatively quickly from the moved pen ordeal. Before I left for the store to get the girls some more things I thought they needed, Candy had wandered up on their couch and begun frantically digging in the blanket that protects it. One day, I’d like to find out what causes dogs to do that.

Dottie Side Steps the Step Stools,

Since Dottie has attempted to get up on my couch a few times over the last few days, with, at the least, embarrassing results, I came back from my shopping trip with what I hoped was a solution. One was a small, pink child’s step stool from Target. The second was a foldable black and white step stool from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

When Dottie came up to the couch this time, I pointed her to the first experiment, the pink stool. She gave it a quick look and scurried away. I tried the other stool the next time, but she wouldn’t take the bait. I guess I’ll return them and try the real dog steps.

A Substitute for Brushing

Since we aren’t at the point in our relationship where I can attempt to brush their teeth (I never did succeed with our Yorkie), I scoured the shelves for the perfect dental treat. I brought home Dentist’s Best Chewy Treats, described as tasty and fully digestible.

The girls didn’t know what to think about these white and blue specked treats shaped like chicken bones. At first, Dottie and Candy smelled them, looking disinterested. Flower moved hers to a safe place and then went and grabbed Candy’s and trotted off with it. Later, they were all chomping away, leaving white flecks on the red blanket on their couch and the brown one on ours.